Cardholder



Jan. 5, 1943. D. M. HOLSTEIN CARD HOLDER Filed Jan. 3, 1942 Z m w WM M m 5 M w T m w Patented Jan. 5, 1943 CARDHOLDER David M. Holstein, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Syracuse Ornamental 00., Syracuse, N. Y., a

copartnershlp Application January 3, 1942, Serial No. 425,525

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a new holder and dispenser for playing cards and has for its major object the provision of such a holder wherein the maining cards.

A further object is the provision of such a device of a shape such that the cards either as a deck or singly may be easily placed therein without the need of aligning the cards accurately.

A still further object is the provision of such a device wherein without the accurate alignment of cards a cover may be placed on said card container thus providing a neat, compact which achieves the above objects and other objects which will be apparent hereafter, I have done so by means of a simple, rugged, yet extremely attractive device which is capable of being produced in large quantities and at a relatively low cost.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of the combined cover and card holder;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the base showing the two card-receiving chambers;

Fig. 3 is a side view showing the cover as it is applied to the base;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line similar to line 4-4 and showing the top as it is being applied to the base and the manner in which it serves to self-align the cards.

The invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, has particular reference and application to card games wherein the players are required to draw cards from one pack and to place cards in another pack, inasmuch as two cardholding and dispensing chambers are shown. It is, of course, apparent that in the event a further number of chambers are desired, the present invention could be increased in size to include such further elements.

As shown in Fig. 2, there is provided a base generally referred to as l0 having two cardreceiving chambers generally referred t as H and I2 and having card bases on which the lowermost card of the pack rests, which bases-are desany decorative form.

ignated as Ila and |2a respectively. These chambers are formed by means of side wall l3 and I4, the latter, of which are divided by means of the central dividing partition l5. As pointed out above, the placement of the dividing partition may be such as to form'two equal compartments, or if desired, and if the side walls are of suificient length, two or more dividing partitions might be inserted, thus forming further compartments. Preferably, the base and its cover are formed of wood, plastic, pressed wood or similar substance. However, if desired, metalstamped, cast or otherwise formed substances may be used.

In order to provide compartments into which the stack of cards may b placed and easily withdrawn one at a time, the shapes of the side walls as well as the dividing'wall are of extreme importance. The outside It of the side walls may take However, the inside as well as both sides of the dividing wall are constructed in the form of card sliding surfaces I 1 being slanted upward and outwardly from the'base, preferably at an angle of approximately 45 degrees, although of course, any angle providing an easy sliding surface will be satisfactory.

Due to the slope of the wall surfaces, the compartments into which the cards are placed are as a card is withdrawn, it can be slid upward on the inclined surface and withdrawn.

Each of the side walls as well as the central dividing partition are formed with finger openings l9 to enable ready withdrawal of cards from the stacks. The structures of these openings are all similar and will be readily understood by reference to the drawing. It will be observed that these openings are narrower at the bottom adjacent the base of the card receiving chambers than at the top, thus providing an inclination of the walls bounding thes openings. Each of these openings in addition, extends downwardly below the plane of the surface on which the cards rest, for example, surface I2a as shown in Fig. 5. Adjacent the finger opening IS, the cards do not rest upon the bottom of said opening, but the bottom of said opening which is formed by the stag gered ledges 20 and 2| is spaced from the lowermost of said cards which is resting on l2a. This space under the cards at the point where the person withdrawing normally applies pressure to the cards for removal provides a springiness and permits of ready removal of the cards even though only a few cards remain at the bottom of the pack. As will be observed in Fig. 2, these card removal depressions formed by the staggered edges 20 and 2| extend inward into the base and preferably take a rounded shape as shown at 22 and 23. The bases Ila and Ma are further provided with grooves, scoring or a roughened surface as shown at D and l2b. This roughening prevents the bottom card from clinging to the base and aids in its ready removal.

While the afore described structure presents a very desirable card holder and permits of ready removal of the cards therein one at a time, it is also desirable to provide for a cover for said holder so that when the cards are not in use, a container for the cards is provided. In the present invention, this cover due to its novel construction, also may serve as a card holder for.

use by the players. Fig. 1 shows such a cover in plan view. It will be observed'that it consists of a flat cover section 24 having thereon raised centering projecting lugs 25 corresponding in number and alignment with finger openings IQ of base [0. Each of these lugs are formed with sloping inner walls 26 having a slope corresponding in inclination to that of the slope of the side walls of the base portion. As will be observed, the side edges 21 of these lugs are wider at their point of contact with the flat surface of the cover 24 and narrower at their opposite or free ends. The slope of the side edges 21 corresponds in degree to the slope of the walls l8 which bound the finger opening l9. This unusual interlocking structure and base provides, first, a self-aligning device for positioning the cover in place It will be readily apparent that the lower portion 28 of the lugs is considerably narrower than the top of the openings l9 and accordingly as the cover is being applied, it is very easy to have the projections fit within the openings l9. As the cover goes down, it automatically aligns itself due to the camming action of the side walls 21 and I8. In addition, the slanting surface to the walls 26 of the cover, in conjunction with the slanting surface of the base walls I! provides a method of automatically moving the cards which may be in position adjacent to one of the walls into the center section of the compartment as the cover drops into place without damaging or injuring the cards in any respect. It is of course to be observed that the dividing partition on both sides takes the shape of the interior of the side walls, inasmuch as cards may rest against both of its faces and of course the projecting lug 29 cooperating therewith has two slanting faces 30 and 3| instead of a single slanting face such as 28 of the other projecting portions.

As will be readily seen by reference to Fig. 1, the cover portion when removed from the base serves to provide an additional card holding means. The lugs 25 with their inclined irmer surfaces act in the same manner as the heretofore described inclined faces of the base portion, and the open areas on each side of the lug permit of finger entry for removal of the cards.

While I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that certain modifications thereof might be resorted to without in the slightest departing from the spirit of the invention which is limited only as defined in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A box for receiving cards comprising a base portion to hold cards thereon in horizontally disposed position, side walls, openings in and extending through said side walls, said openings having defining walls extending upwardly and outwardly, a cover for said base and having lugs for cooperation with said side wall openings said cooperating lugs having slanted side wall surfaces for cooperating engagement with the defining walls of said openings.

- 2. A new card holder and dispenser comprising a base having side walls provided with inside upwardly and outwardly projecting card sliding surfaces, openings in and extending through said side walls and a cover having projecting portions for interlocking cooperation with said openings.

3. A combination card box and dispenser for receiving cards comprising a base, side walls, card sliding means forming the interior of said side walls, means to permit manual removal of said cards and a cover having engaging means to interlock with said manual removal means said engaging means cooperating with the card sliding means to align said cards.

4. A box for receiving cards comprising a base portion to hold cards thereon in horizontally disposed position, side walls in the form of prisms having an interior wall extending outwardly and upwardly to thereby form card sliding surfaces, openings in and extending through said side walls, a cooperative cover for said base likewise adapted for receiving cards and holding said cards thereon in horizontally disposed position, said cover provided with side walls in the form of prisms, openings in said side walls adjacent said prisms, said prisms having interior outwardly and upwardly extending inside walls forming card sliding surfaces and adapted for cooperation with the base side walls.

5. A box for receiving cards comprising a base portion to hold cards thereon in horizontally disposed position, side walls in the form of prisms having an interior wall extending outwardly and upwardly to thereby form card sliding surfaces, openings in and extending through said side walls, a cooperative cover for said base likewise adapted for receiving cards and holding said cards thereon in horizontally disposed position, said cover provided with spaced prism shaped lugs formed with sloping inside walls providin card sliding surfaces, said lugs adapted to retain cards when said cover is in either open or closed position.

6. A receptacle to receive a stack of cards which are to be individually withdrawn by a player, said receptacle including a horizontally disposed stack supporting surface, means extending upwardly from said surface and defining confining means preventing accidental sidewise displacement of said stack, an inside surface of said confining means extending upwardly and outwardly from said supporting surface uninterruptedly and continuously therefrom and whereby downward and sidewise pressure by the fingers of a player upon the uppermost card of the stack will cause that card to separate from the underlying ones as a consequence of its surface adjacent its edge coming against said confining structure, said card sliding upwardly and outwardly under continuous pressure to a point outside the area defined by the confining means and at which point it may be grasped between the fingers of a player.

7. A structure as provided for in claim 6 in which the confining means are spaced, prism shaped lugs whereby, while one or more fingers of the player are exerting a removing pressure, one or more other fingers can extend into the space or spaces adjacent the side of the lug.

DAVID M. HOLSTEIN. 

